Comment from RJR
October 1, 2008, 5:43 am

Each year, every student at Oberlin College, should be mandated to successfully complete a remedial course in Safety Town. Included in the course, should be highlighted subjects of “Go on Green - Stop on Red” a guide to crossing streets at an intersection; “Sidewalks are for People walkling - Not Bikes”; “Be a Responsible Reader - Don’t Read and Walk or Ride (Bikes)”; “Bikes must follow the same laws as other Vehicles”, They are not permited to operate on the roadway, then automatically convert to pedestrians at intersections.
Cyclist must be held accountable for operating their vehicles the same as motorist.
If the local Police would spend a third of the effort they spend enforcing traffic laws and issuing citations on cyclists as they do on motorist, and the Court leveling equally outstanding fines and court costs for violations, Oberlin would be richer and safer for all.
The Ohio Revised Code (State Laws) defines and treats bicycles the same as motor vehicles with few exceptions; however Oberlin Police and the Courts (juvenile and adult) look the other way while bicycle violations are openly committed in their presence. I guess they don’t want to clutter the courts with bicycle violations, when they can write parking tickets with less confrontation.

Comment from The Raven
October 1, 2008, 6:52 am

RJR…maybe you should go back and re-read the article one more time.

The 12 year old was struck by a car while she was on the sidewalk. A motorist is to yield the right of way to anyone on the sidewalk while CROSSING it!

The other driver opened her door into the path of a cyclist and was not even cited.

You have two instances here where the drivers were at fault, or partially and you complain about how cyclists are treated with kid gloves…looks like it’s the other way to me in that if you hit a cyclist or open your door into their path, you get a freebie from the cops.

In one of your other postings RJR about the Firelands Boyscout Camp, this is what you said:

“Folks, if you are thinking of moving to the country, before you do, consider and research who your niebors will be and what they do, and when they do it; don’t come here and want to change out lifestyle to meet yours.
To those offended by the noise from the shooting range at Firelands… unless you moved here before 1950, feel free to move.”

The college was there long before you RJR and 99% of the cyclists are from the college, and you know that, so please follow your own advice, and “feel free to move” if their actions are so offensive.

Comment from justsaying
October 1, 2008, 7:07 am

Driving through Oberlin in the college area is a NIGHTMARE, the people don’t honor the crosswalks and the bikes dart out of anywhere and everywhere. Maybe this will bring some attention to it, and EVERYONE will be more careful and respectful now.

Comment from allmoney1996
October 1, 2008, 8:35 am

“Barnes said bikes are prohibited from sidewalks downtown”

Yes, the 12 year old was on the sidewalk…whoops, wasn’t supposed to be…

These problems with bikers have nothing to do with just OC, it’s just because the population of them is so much greater. I just posted the other day that a girl (teenager assuming) was on her bike, felt free to just dart out, didn’t look, IPOD in her ear…if the cars in front of me were 1-2 seconds faster, she’d have been down. Sad to say, but you have to take a test to drive a car, ride a motorcycle, etc. on the road, you should have to do something to ride a bike…even if just a “written” test like they do for temps…dear God, I think about my 16 year old cousin getting his temporarys by just a written test & I shiver. Kids seem to be getting more immature as the years go on…& they want to lower the drinking age…God help us all :-p

Comment from Lovinglife4me
October 1, 2008, 9:54 am

Barnes said, and should learn the signals for slowing down and turning.
There’s a signal for slowing down???
When I drive through Oberlin I find a lot of the college kids very disrespectful. When I took my daughter to Allen Hospital, I commented to her that it’s a good thing we’re watching out for them, because they sure aren’t watching out for us. Several would cross the street in front of us when we clearly had the right of way.

Comment from tiamj
October 1, 2008, 12:39 pm

ALL cyclists have the responsibility of knowing and following the rules of the road. The bottom line is the cars are bigger than the bicycle and the cyclist doesn’t stand a chance when running up against a motor vehicle. That being said, daily (multiple times) I encounter cyclists riding like bats out of hell through the streets of Lorain, zig zagging across the lanes, riding head on towards me, darting out in front of oncoming traffic. Sure, I absolutely agree that motorists have to be more vigilant (more of us may be riding bicycles soon) but cyclists have to learn, and follow, the rules of the road.
Bicyclists who can’t follow the rules and put everyone in jeopardy should be ticketed just like drivers.
By the way:Lovinglife4me - yes there is a hand signal for slowing down!

Comment from gburk
October 1, 2008, 1:36 pm

Yes, there are hand signals for slowing down / stopping on a bicycle (they are the same hand signals that should be used for other vehicles if there is a problem with the brake lights or turn signal), and it’s up to both motorist and cyclists to know the signals. Otherwise, the cyclist signaling doesn’t do too much good if the motorist doesn’t know what it means…

allmoney1996, it would be pretty daft of me to wish that you some day have a child some day who is hit by a car on a side walk, but who “whoops, wasn’t supposed to be…” there. I’m not an atty, but I would question which takes legal precedence over the situation the ORC or Oberlin’s local ordinance 373.10. Somehow I tend to doubt the local ordinance gives motorists the green light to fail to yield to people on the sidewalk.

“Sad to say, but you have to take a test to drive a car, ride a motorcycle, etc. on the road, you should have to do something to ride a bike…” Licensing for operators of motorized vehicles went into effect in the early 1900’s due to public outcry as the number of automobile related fatalities soared. But I guess a well over a century of not needing a test or license to ride a bicycle (or to cross the street as a pedestrian) should just be disregarded.

I’m not saying that there are not problems on both sides. Cyclists can be just as guilty as motorists of choosing not to obey traffic laws. However, there is a much greater cost to society from motorists not obeying traffic laws. Even when motorists are protected by a cage of metal with seatbelts, crumple zones, airbags, etc. there were still over 30,000 motor vehicle occupants killed in fatal crashes in this country in 2007. Heck, just the fact that there automobiles have to meet government ‘crash safety’ standards should tell us something…

Comment from allmoney1996
October 1, 2008, 1:57 pm

First, I never said she “deserved” it, the comment was in regards to the person who freaked about her getting hit on it…She wasn’t supposed to be there…Forgive me for assuming, but I’m thinking she may have been crossing an entrance, not just riding along and the car ran up the curb & hit her…Did she look? Or, as I previously stated, was she strolling along, listening to her IPOD, texting, not paying any mind and BAM, gets hit? The whole story wasn’t posted, so there are quite a few questions that would need answered before I made a “true” opinion on it…BUT, if I run out in the middle of the street during rush hour, I’m NOT SUPPOSED TO BE THERE, & if I get hit, whose fault is it?

And sure, just let everyone drive with no licenses…I mean, most of the people out there do anyways, so just, take away the law…because there wasn’t one for how long before…How fast were cars back then? I could probably have outrun them…there are a ton more issues at hand now a days in re: to driving…I have my vehicle & motorcycle license & I drive the same way on either…offensively & defensively…I don’t trust anyone but myself while driving…

Comment from Lovinglife4me
October 1, 2008, 9:50 pm

I know the sign for stopping, so that’s the same one people use for slowing down? Or is it different? I ride a bike and never knew that. Thank u!!

Comment from DonTCare
October 2, 2008, 2:41 pm

just make the whole area bike only… they got bikes for the old folks too.

Comment from Dan S.
October 2, 2008, 3:27 pm

“Yes, the 12 year old was on the sidewalk…whoops, wasn’t supposed to be…”

To me, the article wasn’t too clear on the subject of whether or not the 12 year old was a pedestrian or on a bike.

When I read the story I came away with the impression that the girl was on foot and a bike rider negligently hit her.

Comment from Dan S.
October 2, 2008, 4:10 pm

When I first crash landed in New Orleans, I was living in a flea bag hotel on Bourbon Street and my only transportation were the street cars and my bicycle.

One day I was late for work, as the only white guy at this parking garage, when I blew through a stop sign on Iberville and soon found myself smashed against the windshield of a gigantic car, driven by a lady headed down Bourbon street, with our faces just inches apart and separated by glass.

It was definitely worth the ride, just to see the look on her face! A person could go their entire life and not see terror like that, as I was yelling, “DON’T SLAM ON THE BRAKES!” which she did, sending me flying off the hood, in slow motion, to watch my bike that was still bouncing and flipping down the street.

I managed to straighten out the handlebars and seat as this poor woman was still screeching, as I rode away to the parking building that was a block away, before the cops got there.

I had some serious pain for the next few days, as I would hear about a hundred times a day, how I must be the dumbest white boy on the face of the planet.

That was a strange job being white. Some of the well meaning guys who worked there would talk to me privately, asking me what’s wrong, “Cuz, this ain’t white man’s work…” I was trippin’…

Comment from Lovinglife4me
October 2, 2008, 5:17 pm

Dan you had me laughing so hard my three, almost four year old granddaughter asked me what was so funny. You would have been laughing at me trying to explain your story to her.

So is the sign for stop and slowing down the same????? Like I said, I ride a bike, I’d really like to know.

Comment from Dan S.
October 2, 2008, 5:45 pm

“So is the sign for stop and slowing down the same?????”

When I was young, the stop sign looked like a big pair of dice and the yellow light was like the bottom light on the ‘Christmas Tree’ at the drag strip.

Comment from Lovinglife4me
October 2, 2008, 7:49 pm

I looked it up. There are only three hand signals. Left turn, right turn and stop. There is no “slow down” hand signal. I didn’t think so, but now I know for sure.

Comment from Dan S.
October 2, 2008, 11:21 pm

LL4M…

Sorry, I misunderstood the question.

I was talking signal lights, not hand signals.

But there are just the 3 for the left arm…

Comment from Dan S.
October 2, 2008, 11:23 pm

…but I don’t see why you can’t use the ’stop’ signal to indicate that you’re breaking, just like the break signal on a car.

Comment from allmoney1996
October 3, 2008, 8:11 am

“To me, the article wasn’t too clear on the subject of whether or not the 12 year old was a pedestrian or on a bike.

When I read the story I came away with the impression that the girl was on foot and a bike rider negligently hit her.”

That’s why in my 2nd comment I said the story doesn’t fully explain so I couldn’t give an “complete” opinion…you know newspapers, they could say one thing & the total opposite is what happened…2cents

Comment from Dan S.
October 3, 2008, 2:13 pm

“…you know newspapers, they could say one thing & the total opposite is what happened…2cents”

Ya’ gotta give papers credit though for being able to get all their stories together, put them in print and deliver the stories to your house in a timely manner.

If I was in charge, the stories would be a week old before they went to press.